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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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Help advocate to get library workers added to the New York State definition of eligible education workers in the Phase 1b vaccination schedule: Reach out to your state legislators and to the NYS Department of Health (DOH) to express the need for DOH to expand their definition of "education workers" in Phase 1b of the vaccination schedule to include public library workers as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended. You may get the response: "...well, there's not even enough vaccines to go around right now so what's the rush..." however, that does not change the fact that library workers deserve to be on that list and were recognized by the CDC as "workers at greatest risk for exposure to infectious diseases."
For those of you in the 42nd, 46th, and 51st Senate Districts please use this opportunity to also introduce yourselves to your new Senators and invite them to visit your libraries, they are each new in their positions and we will want to work to educate them about the wonderful network of libraries in their district.
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MHLS Announcements
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It works, when we all work together: While we all await access to the COVID-19 vaccination for the public library worker community member library leaders are still faced with the realities of managing public library services in the face of a library worker population and community members who are still vulnerable to contracting the virus. We understand that each library is dealing with local issues driving service levels but would like to take this opportunity to urge all libraries to continue to respect the cooperative nature of our cooperative public library system.
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The MHLS Resource Sharing Standards are in full effect. When local decisions are made that compromise the Resource Sharing Standards or libraries allow other libraries items to languish at their location, things start to fall apart. It takes all of us to keep things on track and keep items moving in a fair and equitable way.
ii. View Outstanding Holds
iii. Transfer Holds
iv. Cancel Hold/Replace Hold
2. Please update your library's current hours on your website and social media and clearly communicate to your community when there is a service level change.
3. If your library needs to temporarily roll back service levels to curbside service due to staffing challenges, please consider a solution for your residents to access computers and your internet connection, for example, lending laptops and hotspots or computer use by appointment in your facility. This will help to alleviate your residents seeking that service at another library that does have its doors open, causing a burden for your neighboring libraries - which is what is happening now.
4. Trend Watch: Quarantine procedures are falling out of fashion. As it has become clear that the primary transmission of COVID-19 is person-to-person, many libraries have dropped quarantine procedures. Masks, washing hands and social distancing remain the go-to strategies to help keep library workers and the public safe. Two reminders:
a. The REALM Project's intent is to provide information, not to give specific recommendations on materials handling and therefore has not recommended quarantine procedures based on their findings. The newest REALM findings can be found at
b. The Oregon Health Authority and various health departments throughout the country have provided advice related to handling library materials and have ruled out the need for quarantine procedures. While the NYS Department of Health has declined to issue a similar, formal, opinion, their staff did review the Oregon opinion and had no disagreement with it.
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MHLS Libraries
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 Donna Perolli began work as the new Dover Plains Library director on
January 4th. Donna earned her BA in Economics and Philosophy from Boston University, and an MS in Library Science from Columbia University. Her career as a librarian began in the corporate world where she worked in several large company libraries and information centers. In 2015 she began working at Kent Public Library where she realized her love for public libraries. At Kent, she established the library's social media presence, increasing the community's awareness of library programs and services. Donna has also recently worked at Lewisboro Library, in South Salem, NY as a part time Reference Librarian. She looks forward to working with the Dover community, sharing her love of books and learning.
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Professional Development
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 Join Library Journal for their Winter Summit: Building the Next Normal, taking place on February 23rd. This free, day-long, virtual convening will feature library leaders at all levels who will discuss lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and share actionable ideas on how you can incorporate them into your post-COVID strategy. One of the featured speakers is MHLS Executive Director Rebekkah Smith Aldrich. The Just Transition: If the pandemic had any silver lining, it brought systemic economic, environmental
and societal inequities into focus, and the time for change is long overdue. Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Library System and author of Sustainable Thinking and Resilience from ALA Editions, will discuss the opportunities library leaders have to build community resilience in light of recent events and co-create a new future for their library and their community using regenerative thinking. Register today!
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Resource Sharing & Sierra
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The MHLS eMagazine collection has moved! Patrons are now able to browse, search, and borrow magazines in Libby and OverDrive. The RBDigital platform was also updated with the new titles on February 1st, as an overlap in service, but the RBDigital platform access will be ending completely after March 31st, 2021. For more information including the complete list of 3,200 titles available to patrons, library staff should visit the MHLS Knowledgebase. For MHLS marketing materials visit https://midhudson.org/emagazine-promotional-materials/.
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Sustainable Libraries
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 Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress invites participants with a project to apply for the Community ReBuilders Program. The revitalization of communities is vital to the overall quality of life for the entire Hudson Valley. A key element to successful community development is growing and building local leaders and strong advocates who effectuate positive change in the community. The Community ReBuilders Program provides participants with the tools and support they need to take community development projects to the next level. Participants receive educational resources and training and have the support of Pattern's professional staff as well as guest speakers, financiers, and successful community builders from the Hudson Valley who have completed similar projects. Application Deadline is March 1st.
 Ethan Hawke hails libraries as "one of the most beautiful institutions that mankind has ever created" and encourages the public to support their libraries in a new PSA video from the American Library Association. You can share Ethan's passion for libraries by posting his video to your social media pages, websites, and anywhere else you can think of. Visit the PSA webpage to download the video and to find sample social media copy.
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Trustee Resources
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With the passage of Executive Order 202.92, the adjustments to NYS Open Meetings Law to allow for online meetings have been extended to February 26th, 2021. There were no alterations to the provisions that allow for online open meetings, meetings still need to be accessible to the public, recorded
and transcribed.
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Administration & Management
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Help NY Build Back Better! Complete this five-minute survey by Sunday, February 7th to help shape the goals of the Reimagine New York Commission as it works to reduce the digital divide, improve access to healthcare, and create more and better employment in an increasingly digital economy. The survey, done in conjunction with the New York Library Association, includes an opportunity for librarians to describe the current state of their digital literacy offerings, give feedback on new digital inclusion initiatives being developed at the state level, and to submit recommendations to the State for what resources they would like to see libraries have in order to support digital inclusion and literacy in their broader communities. The goal of the Survey is to give the library community an opportunity to deliver their ideas for important digital inclusion resources to the State.
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